Assam: Recruitment exam for Grade III posts amidst internet suspension under way

Guwahati: Written examinations for recruitment to Grade III posts of Assam government are being conducted across the state on Sunday amidst elaborate arrangements and an eight-hour mobile internet service suspension.

A total of 7,34,080 candidates are eligible to appear for the second phase of Assam Direct Recruitment Examinations (ADRE), being held for bachelor degree level and HSLC level posts, official sources said.

It is for the second time in September that mobile internet services have been suspended in the state to prevent malpractices during the written examination for recruitment test to Grade III posts.

The suspension of mobile internet/ mobile data/ mobile wi-fi connectivity is in place from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, an official release said.

"All are requested to bear with the inconvenience in the interest of holding a free, fair and transparent recruitment examination and thereby securing the future of the youths of the state," the release, issued by the secretary, State Level Recruitment Commission (SLRC) for Class-III Posts, said.

Mobile internet services were suspended for three-and-a-half hours on September 15 when the first phase of the written examination for Grade III posts was conducted.

The written tests for the second phase of ADRE Grade III posts are being held in two halves. The first half is from 9 am to 12 noon, and the second from 1:30 pm to 4:'30 pm.

The release said that though elaborate arrangements have been made for holding the examination in a free-fair and transparent manner, it has been observed in Assam as well as in other states that unscrupulous elements indulged in unfair means using different mobile applications like Facebook, X, Telegram, YouTube, etc.

"There exists a substantial apprehension that anti-social elements or organised groups may try to take advantage of the situation by resorting to rumour-mongering through social media and may try to destabilise the process of examination," it said.

Some may even try to sell fake question papers using different social media platforms, it claimed.

The decision to disable mobile internet services has been taken to ensure that there remains "no loopholes in the examination process which might have the potential to create doubt in the public mind on the fairness of the recruitment process", the release added.

Besides arrangements by the authorities, candidates have also been issued several instructions to ensure smooth and transparent conduct of the examination, another official statement said.

Candidates had been asked to verify the location of the examination centre in advance and report at least one and a half hours before the commencement of the examination for thorough checking and frisking.

It further said the Home and Political department has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for frisking candidates. The SOP comes following allegations of improper frisking of female candidates during the first phase of examination, with many women claiming that female security personnel touched their private parts.

For female candidates, there will be separate enclosures with one Anganwadi worker/helper or ASHA worker to be present near the frisking area.

In case of improper frisking, the candidate should immediately report to the centre in-charge, the statement said.

For speedy frisking, candidates have been advised to wear half-sleeve attire and slippers instead of shoes.

A Northeast Frontier Railway release said that six pairs of examination special trains for the help of candidates appearing for ADRE on Sunday are being run.

The six special trains will undertake 12 trips to facilitate to and fro journey of the candidates.

About 18.50 lakh candidates had applied for the various classes of Grade III posts, while about 13.70 lakh candidates have applied for different Grade IV posts, official sources had said.

Written tests of ADRE for Grade IV posts of two different educational levels will be conducted on two other dates, they added.

The first ADRE under the State Level Recruitment Commission was conducted in the state in August 2022, when mobile internet services were suspended for four hours in nearly all the districts on the two days then the written tests were held.